Rome (AFP) – The United Nations on Friday officially declared a famine in Gaza, the first time it has done so in the Middle East, with experts warning 500,000 people face "catastrophic" hunger.
Issued on: 22/08/2025 - RFI
More than three quarters of Gaza's population will face famine by the end of September, the UN estimates. © - / AFP
"It is a famine: the Gaza famine," said Tom Fletcher, the UN's emergency relief coordinator.
He blamed Israel, accusing it of "systematic obstruction" of aid deliveries to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
Israel's foreign ministry said the declaration that famine is now present in and around Gaza City was "based on Hamas lies laundered through organisations with vested interests".
"There is no famine in Gaza," it insisted.
"It is a famine: the Gaza famine," said Tom Fletcher, the UN's emergency relief coordinator.
He blamed Israel, accusing it of "systematic obstruction" of aid deliveries to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
Israel's foreign ministry said the declaration that famine is now present in and around Gaza City was "based on Hamas lies laundered through organisations with vested interests".
"There is no famine in Gaza," it insisted.
Israel says 'there is no famine' © - / AFP/File
The assessment of famine was made by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC), a coalition of monitors tasked by the UN to warn of impending crises.
It defines famine as occurring when 20 percent of households have an extreme lack of food; 30 percent of children under five are acutely malnourished; and at least two in every 10,000 people die daily from outright starvation or from malnutrition and disease.
UN agencies have for months been warning of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, which has worsened as Israel steps up its offensive against Hamas.
Defining famine: the complex process behind Gaza's hunger crisis
The Rome-based IPC said that "as of 15 August 2025, famine (IPC Phase 5) – with reasonable evidence – is confirmed in Gaza governorate", the area that encompasses Gaza City and its surroundings.
The UN estimates that nearly one million people currently live in the Gaza governorate.
"After 22 months of relentless conflict, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterised by starvation, destitution and death," the IPC report said.
It projected that famine would spread to the Deir el-Balah and Khan Yunis governorates by the end of September, encompassing more than three-quarters of the total Gaza population, or nearly 641,000 people.
The IPC said it was "the first time a famine has been officially confirmed in the Middle East region". A famine was projected in Yemen in 2018, but did not materialise, a spokesman told AFP.
The assessment of famine was made by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC), a coalition of monitors tasked by the UN to warn of impending crises.
It defines famine as occurring when 20 percent of households have an extreme lack of food; 30 percent of children under five are acutely malnourished; and at least two in every 10,000 people die daily from outright starvation or from malnutrition and disease.
UN agencies have for months been warning of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, which has worsened as Israel steps up its offensive against Hamas.
Defining famine: the complex process behind Gaza's hunger crisis
The Rome-based IPC said that "as of 15 August 2025, famine (IPC Phase 5) – with reasonable evidence – is confirmed in Gaza governorate", the area that encompasses Gaza City and its surroundings.
The UN estimates that nearly one million people currently live in the Gaza governorate.
"After 22 months of relentless conflict, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterised by starvation, destitution and death," the IPC report said.
It projected that famine would spread to the Deir el-Balah and Khan Yunis governorates by the end of September, encompassing more than three-quarters of the total Gaza population, or nearly 641,000 people.
The IPC said it was "the first time a famine has been officially confirmed in the Middle East region". A famine was projected in Yemen in 2018, but did not materialise, a spokesman told AFP.
'Haunt us all'
The IPC said the crisis was "entirely man-made", driven by a sharp escalation of the conflict in July, massive displacement of people since mid-March and restricted access to food.
Israel at one point stopped all aid deliveries into Gaza, then started permitting only limited quantities to arrive © Bashar TALEB / AFP/File
In early March, Israel completely banned aid supplies from Gaza, before allowing very limited quantities to enter at the end of May, leading to severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Fletcher said the famine should "haunt us all".
"It is a famine that we could have prevented if we had been allowed. Yet food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel," he said.
Gaza's largest hospital struggles to function in 'catastrophic' health situation
UN rights chief Volker Turk said "it is a war crime to use starvation as a method of warfare".
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire in the war, the release of all hostages taken by Hamas from Israel, and full humanitarian access to Gaza.
"We cannot allow this situation to continue with impunity," he said.
In early March, Israel completely banned aid supplies from Gaza, before allowing very limited quantities to enter at the end of May, leading to severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Fletcher said the famine should "haunt us all".
"It is a famine that we could have prevented if we had been allowed. Yet food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel," he said.
Gaza's largest hospital struggles to function in 'catastrophic' health situation
UN rights chief Volker Turk said "it is a war crime to use starvation as a method of warfare".
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire in the war, the release of all hostages taken by Hamas from Israel, and full humanitarian access to Gaza.
"We cannot allow this situation to continue with impunity," he said.
Children are particularly hard-hit by the lack of food © - / AFP
'Too weak to cry'
Children are particularly hard hit by the lack of food.
In July alone, more than 12,000 children were identified as acutely malnourished – a six-fold increase since January, according to UN agencies.
"The signs were unmistakable: children with wasted bodies, too weak to cry or eat, babies dying from hunger and preventable disease," said Unicef executive director Catherine Russell.
The local food system has collapsed, with an estimated 98 percent of cropland in the Gaza Strip either damaged, inaccessible or both, the IPC said. Livestock is decimated and fishing is banned.
The severe deterioration of the health system and the lack of safe drinking water and adequate hygiene compound the crisis.
Gathering information is extremely difficult in Gaza.
The IPC said conditions in the North Gaza Governorate, north of Gaza City, may well be worse, but said it did not have enough data.
Israel's foreign ministry rejected the IPC's assessment as "political" and asserted that a "massive influx of aid" had entered the Gaza Strip in recent weeks.
The Israeli defence ministry body which oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, COGAT, accused the authors of relying on "partial data" and ignoring information provided to them.
'Too weak to cry'
Children are particularly hard hit by the lack of food.
In July alone, more than 12,000 children were identified as acutely malnourished – a six-fold increase since January, according to UN agencies.
"The signs were unmistakable: children with wasted bodies, too weak to cry or eat, babies dying from hunger and preventable disease," said Unicef executive director Catherine Russell.
The local food system has collapsed, with an estimated 98 percent of cropland in the Gaza Strip either damaged, inaccessible or both, the IPC said. Livestock is decimated and fishing is banned.
The severe deterioration of the health system and the lack of safe drinking water and adequate hygiene compound the crisis.
Gathering information is extremely difficult in Gaza.
The IPC said conditions in the North Gaza Governorate, north of Gaza City, may well be worse, but said it did not have enough data.
Israel's foreign ministry rejected the IPC's assessment as "political" and asserted that a "massive influx of aid" had entered the Gaza Strip in recent weeks.
The Israeli defence ministry body which oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, COGAT, accused the authors of relying on "partial data" and ignoring information provided to them.
Gazans testify to the reality of severe food shortages
Issued on: 23/08/2025
The world's leading authority on hunger, backed by the UN, said Friday that Gaza's largest city is gripped by famine. While experts say half a million people face catastrophic hunger, Israel's foreign ministry said there was no famine in Gaza, and claimed that the UN declaration was based on Hamas lies. Gazans themselves testified to the reality of severe food shortages.
Video by: FRANCE 24
Issued on: 23/08/2025
The world's leading authority on hunger, backed by the UN, said Friday that Gaza's largest city is gripped by famine. While experts say half a million people face catastrophic hunger, Israel's foreign ministry said there was no famine in Gaza, and claimed that the UN declaration was based on Hamas lies. Gazans themselves testified to the reality of severe food shortages.
Video by: FRANCE 24
'Far too late': Palestinian despair mounts after UN declaration of famine in Gaza
Middle East
Conditions in the Gaza Strip continue to deteriorate after the United Nations on Friday officially declared a famine there. Palestinians recounted feeling like "the end is near" amid "absolutely catastrophic" scenes of destruction Saturday as Israel continued its bombardment of the enclave.
Issued on: 23/08/2025
By: FRANCE 24
'Moral duty'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the report as "an outright lie".
Middle East
Conditions in the Gaza Strip continue to deteriorate after the United Nations on Friday officially declared a famine there. Palestinians recounted feeling like "the end is near" amid "absolutely catastrophic" scenes of destruction Saturday as Israel continued its bombardment of the enclave.
Issued on: 23/08/2025
By: FRANCE 24
The UN officially declared a famine in Gaza on Friday, blaming the 'systematic obstruction' of aid by Israel. © Omar Al-Qattaa, AFP
Desperate Palestinians clutching pots and plastic buckets scrambled for rice at a charity kitchen in Gaza City on Saturday, a day after the United Nations declared a famine in the war-battered territory.
AFP footage from Gaza's largest city, which Israel plans to seize as part of an expanded military offensive, showed women and young children among the chaotic jostle of dozens clamouring and shouting for food.
One young boy used his hands to scrape a few leftover grains from the inside of a cooking vat.
"We have no home left, no food, no income... so we are forced to turn to charity kitchens, but they do not satisfy our hunger," said Yousef Hamad, 58, who was displaced from the northern city of Beit Hanoun.
Further south at a charity kitchen in Deir el-Balah, 34-year-old Umm Mohammad said the UN's declaration of a famine had come "far too late".
The children are "staggering from dizziness, unable to wake up because of the lack of food and water", she said.
The UN officially declared a famine in Gaza on Friday, blaming the "systematic obstruction" of aid by Israel during more than 22 months of war.
The Rome-based Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) said famine was affecting 500,000 people in Gaza governorate, which covers about a fifth of the Palestinian territory including Gaza City.
Desperate Palestinians clutching pots and plastic buckets scrambled for rice at a charity kitchen in Gaza City on Saturday, a day after the United Nations declared a famine in the war-battered territory.
AFP footage from Gaza's largest city, which Israel plans to seize as part of an expanded military offensive, showed women and young children among the chaotic jostle of dozens clamouring and shouting for food.
One young boy used his hands to scrape a few leftover grains from the inside of a cooking vat.
"We have no home left, no food, no income... so we are forced to turn to charity kitchens, but they do not satisfy our hunger," said Yousef Hamad, 58, who was displaced from the northern city of Beit Hanoun.
Further south at a charity kitchen in Deir el-Balah, 34-year-old Umm Mohammad said the UN's declaration of a famine had come "far too late".
The children are "staggering from dizziness, unable to wake up because of the lack of food and water", she said.
The UN officially declared a famine in Gaza on Friday, blaming the "systematic obstruction" of aid by Israel during more than 22 months of war.
The Rome-based Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) said famine was affecting 500,000 people in Gaza governorate, which covers about a fifth of the Palestinian territory including Gaza City.
'Moral duty'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the report as "an outright lie".
The IPC projected that the famine would expand to Deir el-Balah and Khan Yunis governorates by the end of September. © Omar Al-Qattaa, AFP
On Saturday, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said it was "time for the government of Israel to stop denying the famine it has created in Gaza".
"All of those who have influence must use it with determination & a sense of moral duty," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini posted on X.
The IPC projected that the famine would expand to Deir el-Balah and Khan Yunis governorates by the end of September, covering around two-thirds of Gaza.
Israel, meanwhile, kept up its bombardment of the Palestinian territory, with AFP footage showing heavy smoke billowing above the Zeitoun district of Gaza City as Palestinians picked through the wreckage of buildings.
On Saturday, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said it was "time for the government of Israel to stop denying the famine it has created in Gaza".
"All of those who have influence must use it with determination & a sense of moral duty," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini posted on X.
The IPC projected that the famine would expand to Deir el-Balah and Khan Yunis governorates by the end of September, covering around two-thirds of Gaza.
Israel, meanwhile, kept up its bombardment of the Palestinian territory, with AFP footage showing heavy smoke billowing above the Zeitoun district of Gaza City as Palestinians picked through the wreckage of buildings.
'Feel like end is near'
The spokesman for Gaza's civil defence agency, Mahmud Bassal, called the situation in the Sabra and Zeitoun neighbourhoods "absolutely catastrophic", describing the "complete levelling of entire residential blocks".
"We are trapped here, living in fear, with nowhere to go. There's no safety anywhere in Gaza. Movement now leads to death," said Ahmad Jundiyeh, 35, who was displaced to the northern outskirts of Zeitoun.
"We constantly hear the sound of bombing... we hear fighter jets, artillery shelling and even drone explosions," he told AFP by telephone.
"We're extremely afraid – it feels like the end is near."
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed Friday to destroy Gaza City if Hamas did not agree to disarm, release all remaining hostages in the territory and end the war on Israel's terms.
Hamas's October 2023 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel's offensive has killed at least 62,622 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
The spokesman for Gaza's civil defence agency, Mahmud Bassal, called the situation in the Sabra and Zeitoun neighbourhoods "absolutely catastrophic", describing the "complete levelling of entire residential blocks".
"We are trapped here, living in fear, with nowhere to go. There's no safety anywhere in Gaza. Movement now leads to death," said Ahmad Jundiyeh, 35, who was displaced to the northern outskirts of Zeitoun.
"We constantly hear the sound of bombing... we hear fighter jets, artillery shelling and even drone explosions," he told AFP by telephone.
"We're extremely afraid – it feels like the end is near."
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed Friday to destroy Gaza City if Hamas did not agree to disarm, release all remaining hostages in the territory and end the war on Israel's terms.
Hamas's October 2023 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel's offensive has killed at least 62,622 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Amnesty says Israel has 'deliberate policy' of starving Gaza's population
Israel is carrying out "a deliberate campaign of starvation" in the besieged Gaza Strip, human rights group Amnesty International said Monday. Seven more people, two of them children, died from malnutrition-related causes in the Palestinian territory on Sunday, the occupied enclave's health ministry said.
Issued on: 18/08/2025 -
By: FRANCE 24
Video by: Morgan AYRE
Rights group Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of enacting a "deliberate policy" of starvation in Gaza, as the United Nations and aid groups warn of famine in the Palestinian territory.
Israel, which heavily restricts the aid it allows into the Gaza Strip, has repeatedly rejected claims of deliberate starvation in the 22-month-old war.
In a report citing testimonies of displaced Palestinians and medical staff who treated malnourished children, Amnesty said that "Israel is carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation in the occupied Gaza Strip".
The group accused Israel of "systematically destroying the health, well-being and social fabric of Palestinian life".
"It is the intended outcome of plans and policies that Israel has designed and implemented, over the past 22 months, to deliberately inflict on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction – which is part and parcel of Israel's ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza," Amnesty said.
Israeli minister announces settlement plan to 'bury the idea of a Palestinian state'
The report is based on interviews conducted in recent weeks with 19 displaced Gazans sheltering in three makeshift camps as well two medical staff in two hospitals in Gaza City.
Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military and foreign ministry did not immediately comment on Amnesty's findings.
Two children and five adults died of malnutrition-related causes Sunday, according to Gaza health ministry. The United Nations has warned that levels of starvation and malnutrition in the besieged territory are at their highest since the war began.
In a report issued last week, the Israeli defence ministry's COGAT, a body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, rejected claims of widespread malnutrition in Gaza and disputed figures shared by the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
In April, Amnesty accused Israel of committing a "live-streamed genocide" against Palestinians by forcibly displacing Gazans and creating a humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged territory, claims that Israel dismissed at the time as "blatant lies".
Hospitals and witnesses in Gaza said Israeli forces killed at least 17 people seeking humanitarian aid on Sunday, including nine awaiting UN aid trucks close to the Morag corridor.
Hamza Asfour said he was just north of the corridor awaiting a convoy when Israeli snipers fired, first to disperse the crowds. He saw two people with gunshot wounds.
“It's either to take this risk or wait and see my family die of starvation,” he said
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
Israel is carrying out "a deliberate campaign of starvation" in the besieged Gaza Strip, human rights group Amnesty International said Monday. Seven more people, two of them children, died from malnutrition-related causes in the Palestinian territory on Sunday, the occupied enclave's health ministry said.
Issued on: 18/08/2025 -
By: FRANCE 24
Video by: Morgan AYRE
Palestinians gather to receive cooked meals from a food distribution center in Gaza City on August 13, 2025. © Omar al-Qattaa, AFP
01:12
01:12
Rights group Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of enacting a "deliberate policy" of starvation in Gaza, as the United Nations and aid groups warn of famine in the Palestinian territory.
Israel, which heavily restricts the aid it allows into the Gaza Strip, has repeatedly rejected claims of deliberate starvation in the 22-month-old war.
In a report citing testimonies of displaced Palestinians and medical staff who treated malnourished children, Amnesty said that "Israel is carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation in the occupied Gaza Strip".
The group accused Israel of "systematically destroying the health, well-being and social fabric of Palestinian life".
"It is the intended outcome of plans and policies that Israel has designed and implemented, over the past 22 months, to deliberately inflict on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction – which is part and parcel of Israel's ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza," Amnesty said.
Israeli minister announces settlement plan to 'bury the idea of a Palestinian state'
israel © France24
01:36
01:36
The report is based on interviews conducted in recent weeks with 19 displaced Gazans sheltering in three makeshift camps as well two medical staff in two hospitals in Gaza City.
Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military and foreign ministry did not immediately comment on Amnesty's findings.
Two children and five adults died of malnutrition-related causes Sunday, according to Gaza health ministry. The United Nations has warned that levels of starvation and malnutrition in the besieged territory are at their highest since the war began.
In a report issued last week, the Israeli defence ministry's COGAT, a body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, rejected claims of widespread malnutrition in Gaza and disputed figures shared by the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
In April, Amnesty accused Israel of committing a "live-streamed genocide" against Palestinians by forcibly displacing Gazans and creating a humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged territory, claims that Israel dismissed at the time as "blatant lies".
Hospitals and witnesses in Gaza said Israeli forces killed at least 17 people seeking humanitarian aid on Sunday, including nine awaiting UN aid trucks close to the Morag corridor.
Hamza Asfour said he was just north of the corridor awaiting a convoy when Israeli snipers fired, first to disperse the crowds. He saw two people with gunshot wounds.
“It's either to take this risk or wait and see my family die of starvation,” he said
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
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